We stopped by Kinderhook Farm a few weeks ago to stock up our new garage freezer with some local meat. I had received a call from Georgia a few days earlier with word that her 80-day Freedom Ranger Chickens were processed (by Georgia herself!), and while that was the reason for our visit of course I can't walk away without some beef in hand. We nabbed a flat iron steak, ground beef, that 5 lb freedom ranger chicken, and the most beautiful 1.7 lb porterhouse steak. Everything else went into the freezer for another day, but that night the porterhouse would be consumed! 

Continuing with my quest to learn from Bobby Flay, I had read a recipe for a rib eye steak done the "Bar American" way in his "Grill It" cookbook, and while I had a huge porterhouse in hand now I thought I'd give that preparation a shot. Flay is big on flavor, and remembering how insanely good the last porterhouse I had grilled up from Kinderhook I figured this steak could handle the rub and sauce. 

It starts with a rub heavy on ancho chili powder. In my younger days I only thought a pepper was a pepper if it packed some serious heat. But as I mature I'm realizing the less hot peppers have some really amazing flavors, and the ancho pepper falls right in line here. Quick gallery of the rub's ingredients and the final result: 

Flay marries this chili-heavy rub with a a surprisingly sweet steak sauce featuring a mustard and molasses base. It has a bit of a "cocktail sauce" vibe thanks to some ketchup and horseradish, but there is a ton of sweet added with the molasses. Another quick gallery of key ingredients and the final result:
While the sauce is chilling in the fridge, I got a charcoal fire going. I decided to break out the bag of Stubb's Charcoal i picked up a few weeks ago. I've been using hardwood for about 3 years straight, so i wasn't sure about going back to a briquette. But it was some decent stuff. It was on sale for 5 bucks a bag... marked at its usual 8 bucks and I'll pass but at $5 its not a bad bag of coal to have around. 

Anyway, while the coals are getting hot I rubbed the steak all over with a little canola oil and a few pinches of kosher salt. Flay then instructs to rub just one side of the steak with the rub.... something I've never considered doing but I'll follow along for now:

Meanwhile I got the dutch oven going with some oil to make up a batch of french fries: Once the coals were ashed over, I tossed the steak rub-side down onto a cleaned and oiled kettle grill. I opted to keep the steak on the edge of the heat as burning this $40 steak would be insanely frustrating. I grilled this for a total of 17 minutes, split pretty evenly per side. Here's a few shots of the grilling progress: After sitting under a foil tent for 5 minutes or so I was left with this beauty: I then sliced up the strip and tenderloin separately:  I served the strip and tenderloin on the plate separately, along with fries and a simple side of balsamic glazed green beans with a bowl of the Bar American steak sauce on the side: The table setting also included three dipping options for the fries: straight ketchup, a chipotle/ketchup combo, and a chipotle mayo combo. I opted for the chipotle mayo, and lori picked the straight ketchup... neither of us wanted the chipotle/ketchup combo:

As expected, this Kinderhook steak did not disappoint. Their beef has such a wonderfully rich beefy taste to it. The tenderloin was again very flavorful, and the strip was just about perfect. When I tasted the BA sauce straight up I was really surprised how sweet it was and I thought I might not even use it. But combined with a sugar-free rub that is heavy on ancho chili... well its a really amazing pairing. The two items really become a separate taste when combined. 

Again, I pulled this entirely from Bobby Flay's "Grill It" cookbook, so I can't take any credit here but its definitely worth a shot if you're jonesin for a great steakhouse meal:

For the steak sauce:

• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons honey (this is Bobby Flay after all!)
• 1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• Mix everything together in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to a day in advance. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

For the Rub:

• 1/4 cup Ancho chili powder (i couldn't find any, so i found some dried ancho's and ground them in a coffee grinder)
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• Mix this all in a bowl, you won't use it all but it should keep for a few months in an airtight container

For the steak:

• 1 1.5-2 lb porterhouse steak (mine was 1.7 lbs)
• 1 Tablespoon canloa oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Rub the steak with the oil, and then the salt on all sides
• Rub about 2-3 Tablespoons of the rub on one side of the steak
• Grill on the edge of medium-hot coals (rub side down first) for 15-20 minutes splitting time evenly on both sides until the steak is done to your liking. I did mine for 17 minutes, and it was on the rare side of medium-rare. 
• Let the steak sit on a plate tented with aluminum foil for 5 minutes
• Cut the meat from the bone, slice, and serve immediately with the steak sauce on the side

 

OK, its now clear to me that grass-fed steak (or at least the grass-fed steak that the good folks at Kinderhook Farm produce) seriously kicks mass-produced grain-fed beef's ass. This meal was incredibly simple, and truly phenomenal. I started with a Kinderhook rib steak, at about 1.2 lbs and roughly 1.5 inches thick:

I put a few splashes of olive oil on both sides (about 1 tsp total), and rubbed it in with 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper on both sides and all edges:

I then got the gas grill (in Brooklyn again) smokin' hot... i'm talking 500+ degrees here, and grilled over the hottest part of the fire for 6 minutes per side. Here it is after the first 6 minutes:

Here it is on the other side after the second 6 minutes:

I generally had the lid closed, except when i could hear dramatic flareups happening and I'd open to blow out the flames or move to a less oil-soaked area. So maybe of the total 12 minutes over the hot fire, i had the cover down for 9. I bring this up because i think if i left it closed the entire time it would have been both overcooked, and charred to resemble an Adidas Samba. 

I took it off the grill after a total of 12 minutes, and let it sit for another 10. I then cut it from the bone, and sliced into strips:

That's it. I didn't include a tin of liquid on the grill to keep it moist. I didn't sear it over high heat and move to a cooler spot for the second half of cooking. I didn't marinate it. I didn't add any seasoning aside from S&P and some oil. And i swear its the best steak i've ever eaten. Crisp exterior. Juicy interior. Incredibly flavorful. Don't even get me started on nibbling on the left over bone. Holy crap! Really good stuff. 

We served the sliced steak on top of a simple salad of mixed greens, sliced cherry tomatoes, and steamed green beans with a basic mustard-vinaigrette (recipe below). Here's the final plate:  

I'm usually a total sucker for the complex recipe with layers of flavors... and I'm not saying I'll stop liking that, but this steak was dead simple, and i couldn't have been happier with it. 

For the Mustard Vinaigrette just whisk together:

• 1 Tb dijon mustard
• 1 Tb "grainy" mustard
• 2 Tb white wine vinegar
• 2 Tb olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

 

This is the classic, american, saucy, smokey, juicy, and crispy BBQ'd chicken you're looking for. Think Norman Rockwell drawing a summer picnic BBQ and this dish is front and center.

When I cut up Kinderhook Farm's Freedom Ranger Chicken into pieces last week I was really excited to make this meal with the legs, thighs, and wings. You want the juicy richness of dark meat for this one, and that chicken did not disappoint. I started with a rub inspired by one of Chris Schlesinger's mixes... it contained:

• 1/4 cup Paprika
• 2 TB Brown Sugar
• 2 TB Cumin
• 2 TB Mustard Powder
• 1 TB Ginger Powder
• 1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper (use a coffee grinder!)
• 2 TB Kosher or Sea Salt

I coated the rub all over the chicken pieces and put it for a few hours in the fridge to let it set. I used roughly a third of the rub made above... its awesome to have leftover rub! I then got a charcoal fire going, and banked all the coals to one side as I planned to cook the chicken with indirect heat on the other side. I put a tin of beer over the hot coals to keep things moist, and the chicken as far away from the heat as possible. Here's the layout: 

I then covered the grill, and let it go for about 20 minutes. When I came back the coals were practically extinguished. That really shouldn't have happened, but I was slow getting the chicken on, and I just didn't have enough fuel going. So I added some more coals, abandoned the beer tin (which had been consumed - by the heat, not me) and propped up the edge of the lid with a piece of wood to keep the air flow strong:

Well, as most people know wood catches fire. Something I was not really planning on but like many things on the grill was a really happy accident. When i came back 10 minutes later to check on things, smoke was pouring out the Weber from every which way. I thought the chicken would be a black brick, but it turned out the wood didn't go up in a blaze, it was a sort of smoldering smokey log. So I ran with it, and kept it on top of the grate as an extra smoke maker:

This slow cooked for about another 25 minutes (we're at 55 now total)... And then it was time to mop on some of that sweet sticky sauce. The sauce was made with: 

• 1 cup Heinz Chili Sauce (you could use ketchup, but i love chili sauce)
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 10 dashes of worcestershire sauce
• 1 TB chile powder (chipotle chili powder if you can find it)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 a beer 
• All of that was cooked over low heat for about 30 minutes to help thicken it up. 

I mopped it on the chicken pieces, and let it cook on there for about 5 minutes. Any more and it would start to burn... I just want it to set well and not be a runny mess. Right before i took it off the grill this is what we looked like: 

And under the lights inside here's what came off the grill after a total of about 60 minutes:
This was really outstanding. The meat was incredibly tender and moist... it was downright juicy! And the skin was this sort of crispy flavor burst. This rub and sauce combination is one of my absolute favorites. I'm normally a guy who loves heat, and this has essentially none. But it is so so so good. Just an explosion of smokey flavors that go really well together. The legs and thighs were great, but i was also surprised by how juicy the wings stayed as well.  Here's a quick shot of the table setting:

We served the main event with a quick mixed green salad, some canned baked beans, and some of Lori's Jalepeno cornbread muffins we had in the freezer. Another great meal from that Kinderhook Chicken. Last thing to do is make up a stock with the final pieces awaiting in the freezer. I love being economical! Especially when it produces such awesome meals. 

We got a call from Lee at Kinderhook Farm last week with news of Freedom Ranger Chickens which had just been harvested. So we made a quick Sunday afternoon trip over to the farm... had a lovely meandering tour of sheep, chickens, horses, and vegetable gardens in progress... though the main event was to pick up a fresh chicken. These came in from processing on that Friday (it was Sunday), and were simply kept in the fridge having not been frozen. They were all about 4.5 pounds. 

Fresh chicken in hand, I was now left with the dilema of what to do with a whole chicken? I had just done a beer can chicken, and wasn't in the mood for another... and it is June so its kinda hard for BBQ Billy to NOT use the grill. So, to open up my preparation options i decided to butcher the chicken into parts (a task i have never done). Turns out its not that hard: you cut them exactly like'd you'd guess. My only tip would be to start with the legs, then do the wings, then split the breasts. I kept the breasts for dinner, and froze the legs and wings for another meal. I also froze the remaining "scrap" to make a stock sometime this summer. Here's a few shots of the butchering results:

My plan for dinner that night was a simple grilled breast on the bone with a lemon/parsley vinaigrette. I first learned of this dish from the book "Let The Flames Begin" about three years ago, and its become a summer staple in our house. I do it from memory now so its likely a bit different but its incredibly vibrant, and a perfect hot summer night meal. The trick is to brine the chicken, as a breast is tough to grill without drying out. So I soaked these split breasts in a quart of water with a 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup salt dissolved in it for about 4 hrs... if you go too long I've noticed the breasts become too salty, so 5 or 6 hours should be ok, but 8 is not. Exciting pic of chicken brining can be seen here: 

Other ingredients are few and far between:

• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

I combined the parsley, lemon, olive oil, and a tablespoon of garlic in a bowl to make a vinaigrette. I like to do this early so the garlic has time to soak into the liquids. 

I then coat the breasts with a tablespoon of garlic each, and a healthy portion of ground fresh black pepper and sea salt.  In addition to the brine, I've started to put a pan or tin of water on the grill when i cook things that might dry out. I figure it works in my smoker when i make ribs and pork shoulder, so its likely to work on the regular grill. Here's a shot of the breasts on the grill with a pan of steaming water:
As always the grill was preheated, scraped clean, and oiled before cooking. I then grilled the breasts over a medium heat "fire" (this was on a gas grill in Brooklyn) on the hotter side of the grill for 4 minutes per side (skin side down first), and then moved them to the cooler part of the grill for another 10 minutes. So total cooking time was about 18 minutes.

[A quick note about grill temps: i learned from that same book about judging heat by feel... so for medium i wanted to be able to hold my hand over the hottest part of the grill right along the grates for 5 seconds before i had too pull away. When i want them hot for a seared steak that time is more like 2 seconds. In the recipe, the cooler part of the grill was more like 10 seconds... or i might not really ever have had to pull away at that temp.] 

The skin gets crisp as evident by the following picture, though it wasn't nearly as burnt looking or tasting as it looks:

After I took these off the grill I let them sit for a couple minutes and then tossed them around the dish of vinaigrette:

I also spoon a bit of the liquid from the vinaigrette on the plated breast. We served these with a boxed vegetable cous cous mix, and some simply grilled yellow squash slices:

Lighting at the dinner table was soft, so this pic is a little yellow but I wanted to show the sense of moistness this chicken had:

I was really happy with this dish. The chicken has a wonderfully "full" flavor. I'd describe it as being exactly what you'd wish chicken always tasted like. Its maybe a touch on the darker side than supermarket breast, but just slightly. Whenever possible I'll opt for this chicken over supermarket chicken from now on... it really was that good.